I’ll be up front: this 40-in-40 was supposed to be about José Caballero. An unheralded minor leaguer coming out of nowhere, stabilizing the black hole of second base with stellar defense and baserunning, and near-immediately endearing himself to the fanbase? With a killer nickname to boot? Writing his first-ever appearance in this long-running series was going to be a treat.
Alas, Jerry Dipoto had other plans. Mere minutes after acquiring Anthony DeSclafani and Mitch Haniger from the Giants for Robbie Ray on January 5th, Death Cabby was shipped off to Tampa Bay a straight swap for outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley.